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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Lone Wolves And Copycats: Assessing Policy And Infrastructure For Flood Hazard And Floodplain Management, Samantha L. Hamlin Dec 2018

Lone Wolves And Copycats: Assessing Policy And Infrastructure For Flood Hazard And Floodplain Management, Samantha L. Hamlin

Dissertations and Theses

To mitigate flood hazard, which affects millions of people every year, increasing numbers of communities are developing green infrastructure policies to not only mitigate the hazard, but to meet other community policy objectives, as green infrastructure is often cited for the multiple benefits it confers. To support the implementation of policies that help communities meet their policy objectives, however, it is imperative to understand how policy is innovated and adopted. To do so, I applied the internal determinants and regional diffusion models, what I refer to as the lone wolf and copycat models. In policy, a lone wolf innovates a …


Characterizing Temperature Variability States Across Southern South America And Associated Synoptic-Scale Meteorological Patterns, Judah Adam Detzer Dec 2018

Characterizing Temperature Variability States Across Southern South America And Associated Synoptic-Scale Meteorological Patterns, Judah Adam Detzer

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this thesis is to understand spatiotemporal temperature variability in southern South America by identifying overarching temperature variability states and their associated synoptic-scale meteorological patterns. Further, the temporal frequency of occurrence of those temperature variability states is investigated as is the role of recurrent low-frequency modes of climate variability (El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Southern Annular Mode) on temperature variability. K-means cluster analysis is used to group all months during the period 1980-2015 into four primary categories for summer and winter separately. Monthly maps of temperature anomalies are provided as input to the k-means algorithm and the …


Interdependent Infrastructure As Linked Social, Ecological, And Technological Systems (Setss) To Address Lock-In And Enhance Resilience, Samuel A. Markolf, Mikhail Chester, Daniel A. Eisenberg, David Iwaniec, Cliff I. Davidson, Rae Zimmerman, Thaddeus R. Miller, Benjamin Ruddell, Heejun Chang Dec 2018

Interdependent Infrastructure As Linked Social, Ecological, And Technological Systems (Setss) To Address Lock-In And Enhance Resilience, Samuel A. Markolf, Mikhail Chester, Daniel A. Eisenberg, David Iwaniec, Cliff I. Davidson, Rae Zimmerman, Thaddeus R. Miller, Benjamin Ruddell, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditional infrastructure adaptation to extreme weather events (and now climate change) has typically been techno-centric and heavily grounded in robustness—the capacity to prevent or minimize disruptions via a risk-based approach that emphasizes control, armoring, and strengthening (e.g., raising the height of levees). However, climate and nonclimate challenges facing infrastructure are not purely technological. Ecological and social systems also warrant consideration to manage issues of overconfidence, inflexibility, interdependence, and resource utilization—among others. As a result, techno-centric adaptation strategies can result in unwanted tradeoffs, unintended consequences, and underaddressed vulnerabilities. Techno-centric strategies that lock-in today’s infrastructure systems to vulnerable future design, management, and …


Pedestrian Pedagogy Of Place: Nurturing An Ecological Consciousness Through Slow Explorations Of The Public Realm, Kevin M. Pozzi Oct 2018

Pedestrian Pedagogy Of Place: Nurturing An Ecological Consciousness Through Slow Explorations Of The Public Realm, Kevin M. Pozzi

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

As increasing institutional paralysis and polarization demonstrate, citizens are not engaged or motivated by ecological challenges because they struggle to identify with our catastrophic relationship to nature in this urban, anthropocentric, and climactically-fraught modern era. Rather than focus solely on natural areas as a pathway to ecological consciousness and action, educators can inspire citizens through a “Pedestrian Pedagogy of Place” that brings wonder and enchantment into our urban public realm. Using the principles of sustainability education and place-based education as a framework, this pedagogy recognizes the sidewalk and pedestrian experience as a shared classroom through sensory, awareness-based learning modalities.


Patterns And Drivers Of Recent Disturbances Across The Temperate Forest Biome, Andreas Sommerfeld, Cornelius Senf, Brian Buma, Anthony W. D'Amato, Tiphaine Despres, Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal, Shawn Fraver, Lee E. Frelich, Alvaro G. Gutiérrez, Sarah J. Hart, Brian J. Harvey, Hong S. He, Tomáš Hlásny, Andrés Holz, Multiple Additional Authors Oct 2018

Patterns And Drivers Of Recent Disturbances Across The Temperate Forest Biome, Andreas Sommerfeld, Cornelius Senf, Brian Buma, Anthony W. D'Amato, Tiphaine Despres, Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal, Shawn Fraver, Lee E. Frelich, Alvaro G. Gutiérrez, Sarah J. Hart, Brian J. Harvey, Hong S. He, Tomáš Hlásny, Andrés Holz, Multiple Additional Authors

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increasing evidence indicates that forest disturbances are changing in response to global change, yet local variability in disturbance remains high. We quantified this considerable variability and analyzed whether recent disturbance episodes around the globe were consistently driven by climate, and if human influence modulates patterns of forest disturbance. We combined remote sensing data on recent (2001–2014) disturbances with in-depth local information for 50 protected landscapes and their surroundings across the temperate biome. Disturbance patterns are highly variable, and shaped by variation in disturbance agents and traits of prevailing tree species. However, high disturbance activity is consistently linked to warmer and …


Sources Of Contaminated Flood Sediments In A Rural–Urban Catchment: Johnson Creek, Oregon, Heejun Chang, Deonie Allen, Jennifer L. Morse, Janardan Mainali Oct 2018

Sources Of Contaminated Flood Sediments In A Rural–Urban Catchment: Johnson Creek, Oregon, Heejun Chang, Deonie Allen, Jennifer L. Morse, Janardan Mainali

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigated the delivery of contaminated sediments to the channel network by urban drainage systems in Johnson Creek in Oregon, USA. Concentrations of five heavy metal concentrations measured in 136 samples collected from 37 stormwater outfalls and 99 bed sampling points were analysed. While concentrations of zinc, cadmium and lead increased with distance downstream in Johnson Creek, this was not the case for chromium and copper. Zinc, copper, and cadmium concentrations in outfalls were significantly higher than those in the stream bed, indicating that stormwater runoff is responsible for delivering contaminated sediments to Johnson Creek. Zinc concentrations in outfalls …


Putting Rooted Networks Into Practice, Alida Cantor, Elizabeth A. Stoddard, Dianne Rocheleau, Jennifer F. Brewer, Robin Roth, Trevor Birkenholtz, Katherine Foo, Padini Nirmal Oct 2018

Putting Rooted Networks Into Practice, Alida Cantor, Elizabeth A. Stoddard, Dianne Rocheleau, Jennifer F. Brewer, Robin Roth, Trevor Birkenholtz, Katherine Foo, Padini Nirmal

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rooted networks provide a conceptual framework that embeds network thinking in nature-society geography in order to investigate socio-ecological relations, while emphasizing the place-specific materiality of these relations. This progress report examines how geographers have put the framework into scholarly practice. The conceptual approach has enabled researchers to: 1) articulate the territoriality and materiality of networks as assemblages, which may be simultaneously rooted and mobile; 2) discern diverse types of power that flow through network connections; and 3) conduct analyses that unearth multiply-situated knowledges within networks. Challenges emerge as we seek to integrate the approach more fully with disciplinary traditions, including …


Assessing Ppgis Usability And Its Relationship To Spatial Data Production: A Case Study, Timothy Michael Hitchins Sep 2018

Assessing Ppgis Usability And Its Relationship To Spatial Data Production: A Case Study, Timothy Michael Hitchins

Dissertations and Theses

Modern Geoweb-enabled PPGIS methodologies incorporate interactive map applications as the main driver for public engagement and data collection. However, little research explores exactly how the public interact with these applications to produce spatial data, a fact that contributes to criticisms of final data quality. Usability evaluation offers a solution for developing better PPGIS data production systems by identifying problems in the application interface for which the public engage. Drawing on a case study example of a PPGIS application developed to collect socio-spatial data from members of a random public, this paper addresses usability in a three-stage approach. First, controlled experimentation …


Examining The Spatial Characteristics Of Pluvial Flooding Through Citizen Science In Portland, Oregon, Katelyn Rachel Michelson Aug 2018

Examining The Spatial Characteristics Of Pluvial Flooding Through Citizen Science In Portland, Oregon, Katelyn Rachel Michelson

Dissertations and Theses

Pluvial flooding is caused by rainfall events that overwhelm drainage systems and do not allow excess water to be absorbed by soils or water infrastructure. This type of flooding occurs frequently in urban systems and leads to public inconveniences and infrastructure deterioration, which could cost more than fluvial flooding over time. Increased rainfall intensity, which is projected to increase with climate change, could result in increased pluvial flooding. This study aims to examine the vulnerability of pluvial flooding in Portland, OR (2010-2017) by incorporating an interdisciplinary framework that examines the physical and socioeconomic vulnerability of flooding through citizen-reported flooding data. …


Assessing Spatiotemporal Stream Temperature Trends And Drivers Through Integrated Longitudinal Thermal Profiling And Stationary Data Logger Methodology On The Upper Chehalis River, Wa, Whitney Vonada Aug 2018

Assessing Spatiotemporal Stream Temperature Trends And Drivers Through Integrated Longitudinal Thermal Profiling And Stationary Data Logger Methodology On The Upper Chehalis River, Wa, Whitney Vonada

Dissertations and Theses

This study encompasses 25 kilometers of the Chehalis River in Washington, USA that currently has sections under a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan for stream temperature impairments that exceed 18°C, a regulatory standard set at the time of the listing to protect salmonid spawning, rearing, and migration. Using information integrated from stationary data loggers (n=22) that collected stream temperature information from August 4-September 10, 2017, and longitudinal thermal profiling performed on July 29-30, August 4-5, and September 9-10, 2017, this study aimed to quantify the spatial distribution of stream temperature, evaluate relative consistencies of the riverine thermal regime over …


Speculations On The Postnatural: Restoration, Accumulation, And Sacrifice At The Salton Sea, Alida Cantor, Sarah Knuth Aug 2018

Speculations On The Postnatural: Restoration, Accumulation, And Sacrifice At The Salton Sea, Alida Cantor, Sarah Knuth

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using a regional political ecology lens, this paper explores emerging geographies and politics of a “postnatural” ecomodernist turn in mainstream environmentalism. We examine the unfolding case of ecological restoration and renewable energy development at Southern California’s Salton Sea. Ambitious proposals to restore the massive, increasingly degraded lake (and finance restoration) by reengineering it as a hub for geothermal energy generation and hightech green industry hinge upon the ambiguity and malleability of restoration in an environment long classified as postnatural. These plans coincide with a broader rush on renewable energy sites in the California desert, and mounting conflicts over water and …


Landscape Drivers Of Recent Fire Activity (2001- 2017) In South-Central Chile, David B. Mcwethy, Aníbal Pauchard, Rafeal García, Andrés Holz, Mauro E. Gonzales, Thomas T. Veblen, Julian Stahl, Bryce Currey Aug 2018

Landscape Drivers Of Recent Fire Activity (2001- 2017) In South-Central Chile, David B. Mcwethy, Aníbal Pauchard, Rafeal García, Andrés Holz, Mauro E. Gonzales, Thomas T. Veblen, Julian Stahl, Bryce Currey

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent decades large fires have affected communities throughout central and southern Chile with great social and ecological consequences. Despite this high fire activity, the controls and drivers and the spatiotemporal pattern of fires are not well understood. To identify the large-scale trends and drivers of recent fire activity across six regions in south-central Chile (~32–40° S Latitude) we evaluated MODIS satellite-derived fire detections and compared this data with Chilean Forest Service records for the period 2001–2017. MODIS burned area estimates provide a spatially and temporally comprehensive record of fire activity across an important bioclimatic transition zone between dry Mediterranean …


Simultaneous Regional Detection Of Land-Use Changes And Elevated Ghg Levels: The Case Of Spring Precipitation In Tropical South America, Armineh Barkhordarian, Hans Von Storch, Ali Behrangi, Paul C. Loikith, Carlos R. Mechoso, Judah Detzer Jun 2018

Simultaneous Regional Detection Of Land-Use Changes And Elevated Ghg Levels: The Case Of Spring Precipitation In Tropical South America, Armineh Barkhordarian, Hans Von Storch, Ali Behrangi, Paul C. Loikith, Carlos R. Mechoso, Judah Detzer

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

A decline in dry season precipitation over tropical South America has a large impact on ecosystem health of the region. Results here indicate that the magnitude of negative trends in dry season precipitation in the past decades exceeds the estimated range of trends due to natural variability of the climate system defined in both the preindustrial climate and during the 850–1850 millennium. The observed drying is associated with an increase in vapor pressure deficit. The univariate detection analysis shows that greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing has a systematic influence in negative 30-year trends of precipitation ending in 1998 and later on. …


More Than The Sum Of Its Parts: How Disturbance Interactions Shape Forest Dynamics Under Climate Change, Melissa S. Lucash, Robert M. Scheller, Brian R. Sturtevant, Eric J. Gustafson, Alec M. Kretchun, Jane R. Foster Jun 2018

More Than The Sum Of Its Parts: How Disturbance Interactions Shape Forest Dynamics Under Climate Change, Melissa S. Lucash, Robert M. Scheller, Brian R. Sturtevant, Eric J. Gustafson, Alec M. Kretchun, Jane R. Foster

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Interactions among disturbances are seldom quantified, and how they will be affected by climate change is even more uncertain. In this study, we sought to better understand how interactions among disturbances shift under climate change by applying a process-based landscape disturbance and succession model (LANDIS-II) to project disturbance regimes under climate change in north-central Minnesota, USA. Specifically, we (1) contrasted mortality rates and the extent of disturbance for four individual (single) disturbance regimes (fire, insects, wind, or forest management) vs. all four disturbance regimes operating simultaneously (concurrent) under multiple climate change scenarios and (2) determined how climate change interacts with …


Climate Change Amplifications Of Climate‐Fire Teleconnections In The Southern Hemisphere, Michela Mariani, Andrés Holz, Thomas T. Veblen, Grant J. Williamson, Michael-Shawn Fletcher, David M. J. S. Bowman May 2018

Climate Change Amplifications Of Climate‐Fire Teleconnections In The Southern Hemisphere, Michela Mariani, Andrés Holz, Thomas T. Veblen, Grant J. Williamson, Michael-Shawn Fletcher, David M. J. S. Bowman

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent changes in trend and variability of the main Southern Hemisphere climate modes are driven by a variety of factors, including increasing atmospheric greenhouse gases, changes in tropical sea surface temperature, and stratospheric ozone depletion and recovery. One of the most important implications for climatic change is its effect via climate teleconnections on natural ecosystems, water security, and fire variability in proximity to populated areas, thus threatening human lives and properties. Only sparse and fragmentary knowledge of relationships between teleconnections, lightning strikes, and fire is available during the observed record within the Southern Hemisphere. This constitutes a major knowledge gap …


Africa's Urban Adaptation Transition Under A 1.5° Climate, Mark Pelling, Hayley Leck, Lorena Pasquini, Idowu Ajibade, Emanuel Osuteye, Susan Parnell, Shuaib Lwasa, Cassidy Johnson, Arabella Fraser, Alejandro Barcena, Soumana Boubacar Apr 2018

Africa's Urban Adaptation Transition Under A 1.5° Climate, Mark Pelling, Hayley Leck, Lorena Pasquini, Idowu Ajibade, Emanuel Osuteye, Susan Parnell, Shuaib Lwasa, Cassidy Johnson, Arabella Fraser, Alejandro Barcena, Soumana Boubacar

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

For cities in sub-Saharan Africa a 1.5 °C increase in global temperature will bring forward the urgency of meeting basic needs in sanitation, drinking water and land-tenure, and underlying governance weaknesses. The challenges of climate sensitive management are exacerbated by rapid population growth, deep and persistent poverty, a trend for resolving risk through relocation (often forced), and emerging new risks, often multi-hazard, for example heat stroke made worse by air pollution. Orienting risk management towards a developmental agenda can help. Transition is constrained by fragmented governance, donor priorities and inadequate monitoring of hazards, vulnerability and impacts. Opportunities arise where data …


Newwater Regimes: An Editorial, Alida Cantor, Jacque Emel Apr 2018

Newwater Regimes: An Editorial, Alida Cantor, Jacque Emel

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This editorial is an introduction to the special issue of Resources on New Water Regimes. The special issue explores legal geographies of water resource management with the dual goals of providing critiques of existing water management practices as well as exploring potential alternatives. The papers in the special issue draw from numerous theoretical perspectives, including decolonial and post-anthropocentric approaches to water governance; social and environmental justice in water management; and understanding legal ecologies. A variety of themes of water governance are addressed, including water allocation, groundwater management, collaborative governance, drought planning, and water quality. The papers describe and analyze water …


Glacier Inventories And Change In Glacier National Park, Melissa Carrie Brett Mar 2018

Glacier Inventories And Change In Glacier National Park, Melissa Carrie Brett

Dissertations and Theses

Glacier National Park, in northwestern Montana, is a unique and awe-inspiring national treasure that is often used by the media and public-at-large as a window into the effects of climate change. An updated inventory of glaciers and perennial snowfields (G&PS) in the Park, along with an assessment of their change over time, is essential to understanding the role that glaciers are playing in the environment of this Park. Nine inventories between 1966 and 2015 were compiled to assess area changes of G&PS. Over that 49-year period, total area changed by nearly -34 ± 11% between 1966 and 2015. Volume change, …


Defining Extreme Events: A Cross-Disciplinary Review, Lauren E. Mcphillips, Heejun Chang, Mikhail Chester, Yaella Dipletri, Erin Friedman, Nancy B. Grimm, John S. Kominoski, Timon Mcphearson, Pablo Méndez-Lázaro, Emma J. Rosi, Javad Shafiei Shiva Mar 2018

Defining Extreme Events: A Cross-Disciplinary Review, Lauren E. Mcphillips, Heejun Chang, Mikhail Chester, Yaella Dipletri, Erin Friedman, Nancy B. Grimm, John S. Kominoski, Timon Mcphearson, Pablo Méndez-Lázaro, Emma J. Rosi, Javad Shafiei Shiva

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Extreme events are of interest worldwide given their potential for substantial impacts on social, ecological, and technical systems. Many climate-related extreme events are increasing in frequency and/or magnitude due to anthropogenic climate change, and there is increased potential for impacts due to the location of urbanization and the expansion of urban centers and infrastructures. Many disciplines are engaged in research and management of these events. However, a lack of coherence exists in what constitutes and defines an extreme event across these fields, which impedes our ability to holistically understand and manage these events. Here, we review 10 years of academic …


Fisheries’ Property Regimes And Environmental Outcomes: A Realist Synthesis Review, Rebecca J. Mclain, Steven Lawry, Maria Ojanen Feb 2018

Fisheries’ Property Regimes And Environmental Outcomes: A Realist Synthesis Review, Rebecca J. Mclain, Steven Lawry, Maria Ojanen

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our paper describes the application of a realist approach to synthesizing evidence from 31 articles examining the environmental outcomes of marine protected areas governed under different types of property regimes. The development of resource tenure interventions that promote sustainable management practices has been challenged by the difficulties of determining how contextual factors affect environmental outcomes given the complexity of socio-ecological systems. Realist synthesis is a promising evidence review technique for identifying the mechanisms that influence policy intervention outcomes in complex systems. Through a combination of inductive and deductive analysis of the links between context, mechanisms, and outcomes, realist synthesis can …


Holocene Dynamics Of Temperate Rainforests In West-Central Patagonia, Virginia Iglesias, Simon G. Haberle, Andrés Holz, Cathy Whitlock Jan 2018

Holocene Dynamics Of Temperate Rainforests In West-Central Patagonia, Virginia Iglesias, Simon G. Haberle, Andrés Holz, Cathy Whitlock

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Analyses of long-term ecosystem dynamics offer insights into the conditions that have led to stability vs. rapid change in the past and the importance of disturbance in regulating community composition. In this study, we (1) used lithology, pollen, and charcoal data from Mallín Casanova (47°S) to reconstruct the wetland, vegetation, and fire history of west-central Patagonia; and (2) compared the records with independent paleoenvironmental and archeological information to assess the effects of past climate and human activity on ecosystem dynamics. Pollen data indicate that Nothofagus-Pilgerodendronforests were established by 9,000 cal yr BP. Although the biodiversity of the understory increased …


Regional Climate Model Evaluation System Powered By Apache Open Climate Workbench V1.3.0: An Enabling Tool For Facilitating Regional Climate Studies, Huikyo Lee, Alexander Goodman, Lewis Mcgibbney, Duane E. Waliser, Jinwon Kim, Paul C. Loikith, Peter B. Gibson, Elias C. Massoud Jan 2018

Regional Climate Model Evaluation System Powered By Apache Open Climate Workbench V1.3.0: An Enabling Tool For Facilitating Regional Climate Studies, Huikyo Lee, Alexander Goodman, Lewis Mcgibbney, Duane E. Waliser, Jinwon Kim, Paul C. Loikith, Peter B. Gibson, Elias C. Massoud

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES) is an enabling tool of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to support the United States National Climate Assessment. As a comprehensive system for evaluating climate models on regional and continental scales using observational datasets from a variety of sources, RCMES is designed to yield information on the performance of climate models and guide their improvement. Here, we present a user-oriented document describing the latest version of RCMES, its development process, and future plans for improvements. The main objective of RCMES is to facilitate the climate model evaluation process at regional scales. RCMES …